#MassDPH clinical advisories on #AvianInfluenza keep coming. Today's note to clinicians:

Patients w/ respiratory infection AND (recent hx (<10 days) of direct contact with sick or dead wild birds, sick or dead poultry, or sick dairy cattle) OR (conjunctivitis) should be tested for influenza immediately, and subtyped as follows:

• Respiratory infection following a known exposure to sick or dead bird or dairy cattle (with or without appropriate PPE): Call DPH and expedite specimen to SPHL1
• Conjunctivitis and Influenza A positive or with an appropriate animal exposure (sick or dead bird or dairy cattle): Collect separately respiratory and conjunctival specimens, call DPH, and expedite these specimens to SPHL,
• Influenza A with negative subtyping for H1 and H3: Call DPH and expedite specimen to SPHL.
• Influenza A in an ICU or critically ill patient: Recommend rapid (within 24 hours) subtyping at hospital or commercial lab. Send to SPHL as needed.commercial lab. Send to SPHL as needed
• Influenza A in a hospitalized patient: Consider prompt subtyping at hospital or commercial lab. Send to SPHL as needed.

1 SPHL: State Public Health Lab

#BirdFlu #Massachusetts #HealthAdvisory #MedMastodon